When you meet someone at a business networking event how likely are they to remember you? When you meet that person again, is there an agonising moment whilst he or she tries to place you?
In other words are you memorable – or not?
Is whatever you say about yourself and your business interesting?
Is there anything about your business that is remarkable?
To people who are not looking for a web designer right now, most web designers are similar. To people who are not interested in booking a holiday in the near future most travel companies are similar, too.
It’s only when we get to the stage of looking for someone to revamp our website or find us a great holiday deal that we start to look closely at the marketplace and begin to note the differences between suppliers.
Unfortunately by the time I’m looking for your service, it’s probably too late for you to get my business.
If I want to book a holiday, I’ll probably stick with the firm I used last time, or act on recommendations or do the searching online myself.
If your business isn’t remarkable, then I won’t think about you when I come to make my purchase because, to me, you’re just the same as every one else in the marketplace.
What I’ve just described is a situation that most businesses find themselves in for most of the time. Whilst many businesses think about promoting their products and services they don’t think about making whatever it is they do remarkable – or in other words: memorable.
Standing out from the crowd is what matters. Standing out from the crowd in a way that is interesting to me and relevant to me is what matters even more.
Seth Godin, a business writer and business consultant, wrote about what he called Purple Cow Marketing some time ago. It’s a concept that matters to small businesses.
Let’s be honest. You would definitely notice a purple cow if you saw it in a field where there were lots of ordinary cows. You would find it remarkable. You’d probably point out that purple cow to anyone with you. You’d remember that you’d seen a purple cow. You might even be tempted to come and look at it again on another occasion.
So how can you make your business a bit more like a purple cow to prospective cusotmers?
Well, the answer isn’t to be everywhere. The daily e-mails, the regular adverts, the “buy now” exhortations don’t work these days.
However, we do remember a lot of what we see and hear, especially if it’s interesting and relevant and useful to us in our businesses.
So how much time are you spending on offering interesting, relevant and useful information, guidance, advice etc to your prospective customers without even thinking about those sales?
Why not review how much of your time you’re spending on promotion and how much time you’re spending on being helpful without promoting.
The more helpful you are, the more buzz you’ll create, especially in Thebestof where people really do talk to each other about good and bad business experiences, what they're buying and what's caught their attention.
Remarkable, don't you think?
Margaret A specialises in helping small businesses sell to corporate clients and to high net worth individuals.
